Cao Van Vien

Cao Van Vien (21 December 1921-22 January 2008) was a South Vietnamese ARVN General during the Vietnam War. From 1967 to 1975, he served as ARVN Chief of the Joint General Staff, and he served as South Vietnam's chief strategist until around 1971, after which his influence waned due to his reliance on the now-declining US troop presence. He died in exile in Virginia in 2008.

Biography
Cao Van Vien was born in Vientiane, French Indochina in 1921, the son of Vietnamese parents who came to Laos in search of gold. He became a follower of Ho Chi Minh and served in the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War, but he was upset with the Viet Minh's communism and joined independent armed nationalist groups instead. He became a lieutenant in the Vietnamese National Army in 1949 and later attended the Da Lat Military Academy, completing parachute training with both the South Vietnamese and American militaries. He became a colonel in 1960 and became commander of the ARVN Airborne Division in November 1960, taking over after Nguyen Chanh Thi and Vuong Van Dong were forced to flee to Cambodia following a failed coup attempt against Ngo Dinh Diem. He admired Diem and refused to take part in the 1963 South Vietnamese coup, but Ton That Dinh persuaded Duong Van Minh to spare Vien. This proved a poor choice for Minh, as Vien helped Nguyen Khanh overthrow Minh in 1964. The new regime promoted him to Brigadier-General and gave him command of III Corps in the Saigon region, and he was awarded the Silver Star after being wounded in battle. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Dong Xoai in June 1965, and he also led the largest helicopter attack of the Vietnam War. He was promoted to Lieutenant-General in January 1966, and he was remarkably apolitical, assisting him in his rise to power. He also became Chief of the General Staff, and he helped to crush the Buddhist Uprising of 1966. In 1967, he was promoted to full General and Defense Minister, and he fired 50 corrupt officers from the ARVN. That same year, he supported Nguyen Cao Ky's rise to power. Vien replaced the Strategic Hamlet Program with the Phoenix Program, which gutted the Viet Cong's infrastructure. In 1967, Nguyen Van Vy replaced Vien as Defense Minister so that Vien could return to field command, and he played a critical role in the Tet Offensive, personally fighting in the Battle of Saigon and repelling the communist invasion of South Vietnam. He later criticized the US and the ARVN for not immediately following up the Tet Offensive with a decisive counterattack. His influence declined as a result of Vietnamization, as he had relied on the presence of US troops for his strategies. After 1971, his role as Chief of the General Staff became more advisory. He was a signatory to the Paris Peace Accords in 1973. In 1975, he was appointed to the Presidential Military Council, and he fled Vietnam on 28 April 1975, just two days before the Fall of Saigon. He briefly settled in New Jersey before moving to Virginia with his family, and he died in Annandale, Virginia in 2008 at the age of 86.